Career and Education Opportunities for Pharmacist's Aides in Newark, New Jersey

There is a wide variety of career and education opportunities for pharmacist's aides in the Newark, New Jersey area. About 2,200 people are currently employed as pharmacist's aides in New Jersey. By 2016, this is expected to shrink 13% to 1,900 people employed. This is not quite as good as the national trend for pharmacist's aides, which sees this job pool shrinking by about 6.3% over the next eight years. Pharmacist's aides generally record drugs delivered to the pharmacy, store incoming merchandise, and inform the supervisor of stock needs.

Pharmacist's aides earn about $9 per hour or $18,730 yearly on average in New Jersey and about $9 per hour or $20,100 per year on average nationally. Pharmacist's aides earn less than people working in the category of Pharmacy generally in New Jersey and less than people in the Pharmacy category nationally. Jobs in this field include: certified pharmacist assistant, pharmacist helper, and pharmacist assistant.

The Newark area is home to 318 schools of higher education, including eight within twenty-five miles of Newark where you can get a degree as a pharmacist's aide. Pharmacist's aides usually hold a high school diploma or GED, so you can expect to spend only a short time studying to be a pharmacist's aide if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Pharmacist's Aide

Pharmacist's Aide video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, pharmacist's aides record drugs delivered to the pharmacy, store incoming merchandise, and inform the supervisor of stock needs. They also may operate cash register and accept prescriptions for filling.

Pharmacist's aides answer telephone inquiries, referring callers to pharmacists when needed. They also maintain and clean apparatus, work areas and shelves. Equally important, pharmacist's aides have to greet customers and help them locate products. They are often called upon to accept prescriptions for filling, gathering and processing needed data. They are expected to execute clerical tasks such as filing, compiling and maintaining prescription reports, and composing letters. Finally, pharmacist's aides receive, store and inventory pharmaceutical supplies, notifying pharmacists when levels are low.

Every day, pharmacist's aides are expected to be able to articulate ideas and problems. They need to listen to and understand others in meetings.

It is important for pharmacist's aides to ready prescription labels by typing or operating a computer and printer. They are often called upon to ready solid and liquid dosage medications for dispensing into bottles and unit dose packaging. They also compound, package and label pharmaceutical products under direction of pharmacist. They are sometimes expected to furnish customers with data related to the uses and effects of drugs. Somewhat less frequently, pharmacist's aides are also expected to ready prescription labels by typing or operating a computer and printer.

They also have to be able to ready, maintain and record records of inventories, receipts, purchases and deliveries, using a variety of computer screen formats and restock storage areas, replenishing items on shelves. And finally, they sometimes have to deliver medication to treatment areas, living units, residences and clinics, using various means of transportation.

Like many other jobs, pharmacist's aides must have exceptional integrity and be reliable.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Pharmacist's Aide Training

Middlesex County College - Edison, NJ

Middlesex County College, 2600 Woodbridge Avenue, Edison, NJ 08818-3050. Middlesex County College is a large college located in Edison, New Jersey. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 12,346 students. Middlesex County College has a one to two year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated two students in 2008.

CUNY Bronx Community College - Bronx, NY

CUNY Bronx Community College, W 181 St & University Ave, Bronx, NY 10453. CUNY Bronx Community College is a medium sized college located in Bronx, New York. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 9,348 students. CUNY Bronx Community College has an associate's degree program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated one student in 2008.

Berdan Institute - Wayne, NJ

Berdan Institute, 201 Willowbrook Blvd., Wayne, NJ 07470. Berdan Institute is a small school located in Wayne, New Jersey. It is a private for-profit school with primarily less-than 2-year programs. It has 462 students and an admission rate of 81%. Berdan Institute has a less than one year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated eighteen students in 2008.

ASA Institute of Business and Computer Technology - Brooklyn, NY

ASA Institute of Business and Computer Technology, 151 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. ASA Institute of Business and Computer Technology is a small school located in Brooklyn, New York. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 3,580 students. ASA Institute of Business and Computer Technology has an associate's degree program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated eighty-four students in 2008.

Everest Institute-South Plainfield - South Plainfield, NJ

Everest Institute-South Plainfield, 5000 Hadley Road, South Plainfield, NJ 07080. Everest Institute-South Plainfield is a small school located in South Plainfield, New Jersey. It is a private for-profit school with primarily less-than 2-year programs. It has 73 students and an admission rate of 54%. Everest Institute-South Plainfield has a less than one year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated twenty-five students in 2008.

Lincoln Technical Institute - Paramus, NJ

Lincoln Technical Institute, 160 East Route 4, Paramus, NJ 07652-5002. Lincoln Technical Institute is a small school located in Paramus, New Jersey. It is a private for-profit school with primarily less-than 2-year programs and has 751 students. Lincoln Technical Institute has a less than one year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated eleven students in 2008.

Lincoln Technical Institute - Edison, NJ

Lincoln Technical Institute, 1697 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ 08820-2896. Lincoln Technical Institute is a small school located in Edison, New Jersey. It is a private for-profit school with primarily less-than 2-year programs and has 415 students. Lincoln Technical Institute has a less than one year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated ten students in 2008.

Sanford-Brown Institute - New York, NY

Sanford-Brown Institute, 120 E 16th St Fourth Fl, New York, NY 10003. Sanford-Brown Institute is a small school located in New York, New York. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 1,708 students. Sanford-Brown Institute has a less than one year program in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant which graduated twenty-eight students in 2008.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey photo by Gik%C3%BC

Newark is located in Essex County, New Jersey. It has a population of over 278,980, which has grown by 2.0% in the past ten years. The cost of living index in Newark, 140, is far greater than the national average. New single-family homes in Newark are priced at $83,500 on average, which is far less than the state average. In 2008, ninety-nine new homes were built in Newark, up from twenty-nine the previous year.

The three big industries for women in Newark are health care, educational services, and finance and insurance. For men, it is construction, administrative and support and waste management services, and accommodation and food services. The average commute to work is about 32 minutes. More than 9.0% of Newark residents have a bachelor's degree, which is lower than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 3.0%, is lower than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Newark is 14.8%, which is greater than New Jersey's average of 9.3%.

The percentage of Newark residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 57.0%, is more than the national average but less than the state average. First Mount Zion Baptist Church, First Newborn Tabernacle Church and First Presbyterian Church are among the churches located in Newark. The most common religious groups are the Catholic Church, the Muslim Estimate and the American Baptist Churches in the USA.

Newark is home to the Clinton Branch Newark Public Library and the Brills Yard as well as Rippel Field and River Bank Park. Visitors to Newark can choose from Fairfield Inn and Suites, Days Hotel Newark Airport and Broad Street Hotel LLC for temporary stays in the area.